Chapter ‘Het is altijd een herinnering aan de watersnoodramp’

Abstract

This article contains the personal account of Sergeant Reinder van de Put of the national police force, based on his correspondence after he was sent to the area affected by the 1953 North Sea flood. It first focuses on the unique letters and photographs that Reinder sent home from where he was deployed in Nieuw-Helvoet. These documents provide an insight into the national police’s work there and his personal experiences. The article describes what the national police faced one month on from the disaster and also provides an insight into the impact of the disaster on Reinder and his colleagues in Doornspijk, who were very close with each other – not only in how they stood together in solidarity but also how they supported each other.